


Retrieval Mission

by lonely_no_more



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Mercenary!Annie, OC is the Female Titan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-04
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2019-04-18 05:42:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14206335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonely_no_more/pseuds/lonely_no_more
Summary: She was happy she hadn’t been chosen for the Warriors.Annie had no interest in the war between Marley and Eldia.But a mission to retrieve the last of a certain bloodline causes her to break one of the cardinal rules of being a mercenary: don't fall in love with your target.





	Retrieval Mission

She was happy she hadn’t been chosen for the Warriors. 

Annie had no interest in the war between Marley and Eldia. Her father had been disappointed but rather than drop her training, he turned his attention to mercenary work; Annie took to it quickly. The blonde began to get contracts from high-ranking officials and even from the military to hunt down deserters. She didn’t like it but it came easily to her. 

Then, she was contacted by a family from Touyou. She stood, her feet shoulder’s length apart, hands clasped behind her back, as the woman at the desk finally leaned forward. “What are the terms of the contract?” Annie asked flatly.

“I need someone retrieved from Paradis,” the woman answered.

The mercenary’s eyes narrowed and she muttered, “I don’t get involved in the war-”

“This isn’t about some foolish war between Marley and Eldia.” She stared at Annie, matching the hardness of her gaze. “Perhaps you’ve heard rumors of the Ackerman lineage.”

“The Ackermans?” Annie questioned. “Yeah, I’ve heard of them…” 

“We got word of the last Ackerman also being a member of our family,” the woman continued, her fingers coming together to form a steeple. “We want you to return her to us. Unharmed.”

Annie scowled. She didn’t want to go anywhere near Paradis. She didn’t want Marley getting the wrong idea. “What’s the payment?” 

The woman stood and walked over to a table that sat against the far wall. She opened a case filled with money and stated, “This and then some as incentive to make sure she’s brought home safely.” After allowing Annie to mull it over, she asked, “Well? Will you take the contract?”

It took her a moment longer to find her voice. Annie replied, “Yes.” 

The trip to Paradis itself was long and tedious. Annie had to figure out a way into the walls without drawing attention and actually managed to find a drunk soldier standing watch at the time. It was nothing to bribe him; as she made her way into the city, Annie considered that she could’ve just knocked him out but he might’ve been able to vaguely describe her if he had woken up. And killing him would’ve put everyone on high alert. 

Her first several days inside the walls were hard. She had to find shelter and food, first and foremost, and then start her investigation. The population was large enough that it would be difficult to find someone who knew the girl she was looking for. Annie was in line with people who had been displaced by a recent titan attack and she began asking around. “Do you know the Ackerman family, by chance?” she questioned. 

The man she was asking shook his head and muttered, “Never heard of ‘em.”

“Ackerman?” She turned her head to see a soldier with an emblem bearing roses. “There’s a kid who just joined the Scouting Legion. Heard her name was Ackerman. She identified herself during the trial-” 

Another soldier reached over and punched his shoulder. “We can’t talk about that!” In turn, the other soldier stated, “You can probably find her at the Legion’s barracks. If you follow the main road to the center of town, you can’t miss it.” 

Annie nodded and accepted the bowl of soup from the soldier before going to sit and eat. Finally, after two whole weeks, she had a lead. So she ate quickly and followed the directions given to her by the soldier. It was beginning to get late as she finally approached the main compound. Outside, a man stood with a cigarette, the smoke billowing from his nose as he exhaled. When he caught sight of Annie, he turned and questioned, “Hey, what are you doing here? These are military barracks.”

“I was wondering about joining, moron,” she retorted. Annie watched the look in his eyes change, as if trying to discern if she were telling the truth or not. “I can leave though.” As she said it, the blonde began to turn, making it seem as if she were already reconsidering.

“Wait a sec,” he called. “Do you got any formal training?”

She nodded. “I know how hand-to-hand, shooting and even using blades. I can do military maneuvers easily.” 

“What about 3DMG?”

Her face scrunched up. “3DMG?”

“Look, we’ll give you a crash course on it tomorrow and see how your skills stack up, if you’re really interested in joining,” the man retorted. “It’s hard to get people to join the scouts anymore…”

Annie blinked heavily and replied, “High mortality rate?” When he only looked away and refused to answer, she knew that was the case. “Look, I am interested. I don’t have any family anymore and no home. I don’t even have a lot of money. No ties.” 

The man nodded. “All right, fine. I’ll put you up in a room for the night and when we see what you can do tomorrow, we’ll decide if you need to join the trainee squad.” He motioned with a hand, “C’mon then.” Annie followed him and as they walked through the halls, she could feel eyes on her. There were several of these so called scouts still in the halls, likely heading to their individual rooms and such. They finally stopped outside of a door and the man knocked. 

“Come in.”

As they entered, Annie laid eyes upon a very tall blonde man with a bolo tie. “Commander Smith?”

“Yes, Hughes?” 

“This girl is interested in joining. She’s got a bit of combat training, apparently.”

The man leaned forward, his eyes lighting up. “Really?” He directed his gaze at the young woman. “What’s your name?”

“Annie Leonhardt,” she answered honestly. 

“You have training in combat?”

“Yes, sir,” she replied. 

He smiled faintly and nodded. “We’ll see what you can do tomorrow. If you can hold your own, we’ll recruit you outright. I don’t want the military police snagging you first.” Motioning to the man called Hughes, the commander said, “Get her a room with a couple of the new recruits so she can rest.”

Hughes nodded and turned, leading Annie out of the room and back out into the halls. “I think there’s only one room that has a vacancy. There’s usually three to four scouts to a room.” They finally stopped outside of a room towards the end of one hall and the man knocked heavily. A brunette with her hair pulled into a ponytail and an apple in her mouth answered. “Braus, are you seriously eating  _ again _ ?”

“Jus’ an apple,” she replied, munching on the fruit. When she spotted Annie, she froze. “Uhm…are we getting a new roommate?”

“For now, anyway,” Hughes retorted. “You and Ackerman are the only ones with a vacancy.”

Annie’s eyes widened marginally.  _ ‘No way. What kind of luck am I having? Something bad is going to happen soon with all this good luck…’  _ She waited as the girl with the ponytail stepped aside to let them into the room. On the top bunk, a girl with pitch black hair and steel grey eyes seemed to watch Annie as though waiting to pounce. It was a little disconcerting. But there was no mistaking- this girl was her target.

“This is Annie Leonhardt. She’s going to be tested tomorrow for her eligibility for the Scouts. For now, she’s gonna stay here,” Hughes announced. “There won’t be any trouble, will there, Braus? Ackerman?”

“No, sir,” they responded firmly. They all watched as the man left, closing the door firmly after himself.

“So…” Braus began, “I’m Sasha.” She smiled and pointed up at her rackmate and said, “And that’s Mikasa. It’s nice to meet you.”

The blonde nodded slowly. “Yeah. Nice to meet you too.” She sat on the bottom bunk of the other rack, setting her rucksack at the end of the bed. 

“Where ‘bouts are you from?” Sasha inquired.

Annie blinked heavily and paused in taking her boots off. After a moment, she continued and replied simply, “Not from around here.”

“That much is obvious,” Mikasa said. The sound of her voice, low and smooth, made a shiver go down Annie’s spine. The blonde raised her eyes to look at Mikasa and it felt like electricity was sparking along the back of her neck as their eyes met. “Your accent isn’t familiar at all.”

“It isn’t necessarily important where I’m from, is it?” she retorted. “I don’t like talking about it.”

Sasha seemed to grow sad and she asked, “Did your town get overrun by titans too?”

The blonde’s attention snapped up and she stared at Sasha before her eyes wandered up to Mikasa. Mikasa’s expression had gone from stoic to melancholy. That was when her target turned her head away, going back to her book. Annie finally said, “No. Just…family problems.” And, if possible, she saw Sasha’s expression grow sadder. “Jeez, are you ok?”

Mikasa piped up coldly, “You don’t have to talk about it, Sasha. It isn’t  _ anyone’s _ business.”

“It’s…ok, Mikasa. It isn’t anything too big,” her roommate muttered. “I just…got into a fight with my dad…right before I ran off to join the military.”

Annie’s expression softened. “Ah…” Her tone had completely changed. She stated, “Same here. I didn’t exactly run away to join the military specifically though.” Her response was enough to make Sasha smile hopefully. “Maybe…if I make it home some day, he’ll understand.”

“Yeah,” Sasha agreed, her face lighting back up. “You’re really nice, Annie. You kinda scared me when Hughes opened the door. Your expression was kinda intimidating.”

One of her brows quirked and Annie snorted. “I get that a lot.” After a moment, the blonde girl stretched out on the bed and sighed, staring up at the bottom of the bunk above her. “How hard is this 3DMG stuff?”

“Ah, I’m ok with it,” Sasha answered slowly. “Mikasa is a master at it though! She graduated top of our class. The number one trainee. If you have any trouble, you could watch ‘er.”

From the top bunk, Mikasa sighed, “Thank you for volunteering me, Sasha.”

The other girl flushed pink and laughed awkwardly, “Oops, sorry, Mikasa…it’s the truth though…after what happened…”

“That’s not something that any of us are going to talk about,” the top graduate said sharply. She reached down, gently tossing her book to land on the nightstand that sat between the bunks. “It’s late. We need to sleep.” She rolled over, laying with her back facing Annie. 

“Sheesh, looks like someone missed their nap,” Annie quipped lightly. 

“Looks like someone won’t be able to reach my  _ neck _ .” There was the sound of rustling covers as Mikasa apparently moved into a more comfortable position, completely ignoring the glare thrown her way. However, not much more was said and Annie laid awake for a while after Sasha and Mikasa were asleep, trying to mentally prepare herself for the next part of her mission.

* * *

 

Several weeks later saw Annie integrated into the Scouts and on the same squad as Mikasa. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she helped Mikasa clean and maintain their equipment. “Are you always this antsy?” her target asked, her tone conversational for once.

“Just nervous, I suppose. Never been on an expedition before. And I didn’t train with the rest of you,” Annie responded.

Mikasa hummed. “Guess you’d better get used to it.” After a moment, she paused and raised her eyes to look at Annie; it felt to the blonde as if Mikasa was trying to look right through her. “Did you come from the same town as Reiner and Bertholdt?”

“Born in the same city,” she answered slowly, “but I don’t know ‘em. Never hung out with them or anything.”

“Reiner seems to think you guys are friends.”

Annie snapped, “Reiner is a fucking idiot. I’m  _ not _ friends with them.” She returned her attention to the gear, her mouth almost curled into a pout. 

There was a long pause as Mikasa simply stared at the blonde, shocked by the emotional outburst. “Huh. Wow. Didn’t mean to upset you.” Mikasa set the gear she was working on down to reach over and guide Annie’s hand to a spot on the back. “There’s a loose piece there.” 

The blonde girl’s cheeks went red and she froze, only watching as Mikasa gently guided her to the indicated spot. “Th-thanks.”

“No problem,” Mikasa answered, an almost peaceful smile on her face. She returned to the gear she was working on and didn’t see the amazed look on Annie’s face. Annie had already begun working on her own again when Mikasa raised her eyes again. “Why did you really come here?”

“What do you mean? I told Sasha the first night I was here,” Annie replied. “Don’t you ever get into fights with your parents?”

“I don’t have any,” she said coolly, the smile disappearing.

Annie felt her heart sink and any anger she had felt along with it. “I’m…sorry. I didn’t know.” 

“Only Eren and Armin know. So it’s fine. I wouldn’t expect you to know.” 

Mikasa was almost deathly quiet after that. The blonde girl looked up every so often from the equipment she was working on to see if there had been any change in Mikasa’s expression. And it stung a bit to see that her target’s face was absolutely blank. No expression whatsoever. Softly, she murmured, “I didn’t mean to drudge up bad memories.” 

“Like I said: I wouldn’t expect you to know.” 

“If it…isn’t too much to ask, were they killed by titans?”

The brunette tensed visibly, shoulders rising sharply. Then, quietly, “No.”

If anything, that answer made Annie feel even worse. “I…”

“Look,” Mikasa sighed, “I get it. You didn’t know and now you feel bad. It was a long time ago.” She kept her eyes on the gear and said, “I still don’t believe you got into a fight with your dad and ran away.”

With a huff, Annie retorted, “Why not? It’s the truth. I got into a fight with my dad.”

They looked at each other evenly until finally Mikasa shrugged and answered, “Sure you did.”

* * *

 

After their encounter doing gear, Annie began to notice Mikasa dropping more playfully sarcastic remarks rather than cold ones. It was still sarcasm but it was somehow warmer and kinder than before. And Annie couldn’t help but enjoy the banter. Granted, she gave back just as much as Mikasa dished out. The other Scouts seemed to think there was a rivalry between them and, for Annie, that was just fine.

One weekend, once released for liberty, Annie ran to catch up with her target. A smirk curled her lips as she asked, “Going out today?”

“Mm, and what business is that of yours?” Mikasa replied, brows raising slightly. 

“It’s not,” Annie answered, “I was just curious. Wondered if maybe you’d show me around a bit. I haven’t had much chance to explore the city since I came here.”

“You’re…asking me to show you around?” the brunette questioned incredulously. 

Annie shrugged. “Why not? We’re both on liberty and don’t have any obligations in the barracks. Besides, you’re my roommate.”

Her lips curled into a light smile. “So is Sasha.”

“Sasha seems a bit busy with Connie,” the shorter girl pointed out, gesturing where the pair was already sprinting towards the market.

“I can’t seem to argue with that,” Mikasa chuckled. “All right, fine, let’s go.” 

While they walked, Annie glanced at the differences in Mikasa’s outfit compared to their military uniform. Flats instead of boots, a knee-length skirt instead of pants and a cardigan rather than a jacket. It was a cute look for her. Annie blinked, realizing that she really did think that Mikasa looked attractive, and turned her gaze elsewhere in the hopes her cheeks would quit burning. “So what kind of stuff  _ do _ you like to do?” 

Mikasa hummed and answered, “I like reading. I enjoy drinking coffee and tea. I can draw a bit and it’s been a while since I’ve gotten a chance to cook a meal I want to do but I love to cook.” 

“Nice. Pretty tame though. You look like you train a lot.”

“I do. I have to keep getting stronger so I can keep Eren and Armin safe.”

There was a pause and, though she was tempted to press, Annie just nodded. “We should spar sometime. Just for the hell of it,” she suggested lightly.

Her laugh was surprisingly musical. Mikasa actually seemed to be truly amused by the idea. “Not something I expected you to say. Most people try to avoid fighting me.”

_ ‘And they don’t even know the real reason that it’s a bad idea to fight you… _ ’ she thought. Instead, the blonde girl noted, “I guess that just means you have enough strength to intimidate them.”

Mikasa murmured, “I suppose so.” After a moment longer, she stopped outside of a shop and asked, “Do you wanna get coffee?”

“Uh, sure,” Annie replied slowly.

“They also have donuts,” the brunette mentioned.

“Donuts?”

Her grey eyes widened and she inquired, “You’ve never had donuts?” When Annie shook her head, Mikasa took her wrist and tugged her into the shop. “You’re going to now. What kind of coffee do you like?”

“Uhm...whatever their house blend is, I guess. One cream, two sugars.”

Mikasa ordered for the both of them, as well as picking out some donuts. Just a couple minutes later, their coffee was ready and they sat in the corner next to the window, sunlight streaming in over their table. The brunette was already sipping her coffee while Annie reached into the bag that held their donuts. She set her cup down in enough time to watch Annie take a bite and witness the look of astonishment. “Good, huh?” 

Annie nodded, quickly finishing the donut off with just a couple more bites. “I was never allowed to have sweets like that back home...” She grabbed another one and sent a glare at Mikasa when the other girl started to laugh. “What?”

“Nothing, I guess I just wasn’t expecting you to like sweets,” she answered. 

“Why not?” She sounded genuinely curious and waited for a reply, sitting and munching on her second donut. 

The taller girl sat momentarily, sipping her coffee lightly as she considered her answer. “I dunno. I guess you just don’t seem like the type. Sarcastic, very regimented when performing military orders...although, I think that if someone didn’t get you up in the mornings, you’d sleep forever.” 

“Well, what about you? Do you like sweets?”

“Not really, no.” Mikasa set her empty cup down and shrugged. “I’ll give in every once in a while when I get a craving.” 

Gesticulating with one hand, Annie said, “See, I would’ve taken you to enjoy sweets. Looks like we can’t judge.”

Mikasa leveled a flat glare at her and muttered, “Is this you trying to say  _ ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ _ ?”

Annie smirked. “I never said that specifically.”

“God, you’re a pain in the ass...” the brunette grumbled, a begrudging smile curling her lips despite her words. 

“You think I’m great company and you know it,” her companion replied airily. She narrowly blocked Mikasa’s hand as it came across the table towards her shoulder. There was a loud, crisp popping sound as Mikasa’s hand connected with Annie’s in a block. “Jeez, we’re just joking around.”

Blinking in surprise, Mikasa mumbled, “I wasn’t aiming to hit you very hard. Just slap your shoulder.”

“I think sometimes you don’t know  _ exactly _ how strong you are...” Annie muttered.

* * *

 

“So wait, Jaeger is part of Levi’s squad because he’s under observation?” 

Mikasa huffed, “Yeah. You’ve probably already heard why. The other Scouts from our class can’t seem to keep anything quiet.”

“Well...” She didn’t really want to admit that she had been eavesdropping to gather more information about Mikasa. “I heard that something pretty big happened. Like, well, becoming a titan.”

There was a long bout of silence as they reclined on their respective bunks. Sasha was on watch duty, leaving Mikasa and Annie with the room to themselves. “Yeah. He has to be under observation. The military police wanted him executed.” 

“You sure get defensive about Jaeger...” Somehow those words alone tasted awful in a weird cross of her senses. “Are you two some kind of thing?”

“ _ No _ ,” Mikasa snapped vehemently, bolting upright in her bunk to shoot Annie a very stern glare.

Were she not trained to handle sudden outbursts, Annie was certain she would’ve actually leapt back at the fury in Mikasa’s voice and body language. “Damn, ok,  _ ok _ . I’m sorry I asked. I was just curious.” Annie held her hands up in a placating manner. “You just seem...very protective of him. Y’know?”

The fury in Mikasa’s expression quickly broke and was replaced with something else. Something a lot more vulnerable. She turned her head away and murmured, “He’s my brother.”

Annie’s eyes widened. That was not the answer she was expecting at all. Far from it, actually. She sat up a little, supporting her weight on her elbows. “You guys are siblings?”

She watched as her roommate’s shoulders sagged a bit. “Not by blood.” 

“Hey, you...you don’t have to talk about it, Mikasa,” Annie said, trying to be reassuring. ‘ _ What the fuck is up with me accidentally hitting sensitive chords with her… _ ’ The blonde sighed heavily and groaned, “Dammit…” She got up and went to stand on the base of the bottom bunk, her hands holding her upright with the top bunk. “I dunno how but I seem to have an innate talent for upsetting you.”

Mikasa glanced at her, looking as if she were on the verge of crying. “You don’t say.” 

“C’mon, get your boots on.” Annie hopped down.

“Wait, wha- why?” she asked, looking a bit lost.

Annie was tugging on her boots as she answered, “We’re going out.”

“Uhm, you do realize that if we get caught, we’ll be considered AWOL, right?” Mikasa stated.

The blonde looked at her as though it were obvious. “That’s why we won’t get caught.”

They stared at one another for a moment before Mikasa sighed heavily and got down from her bunk. “If we get caught, you’re taking all of the blame.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “What are you gonna tell them, I held a gun to your head and made you sneak out with me at fucking midnight?”

“Don’t tempt me,” Mikasa retorted. However, she was smiling as she tugged on her boots. Her eyes raised as she saw movement and blinked when she saw Annie stuffing pillows under the blanket of her bunk in the length and shape of a body. “Really?”

“Do you have a better idea?” the blonde muttered. When Mikasa just looked at her, she replied, “That’s what I thought. Try and get yours to look somewhat similar so it at least looks like we’re in bed.” Then, Annie moved the nightstand just enough to hop up on the windowsill and open the window to peek out. “Oh, good, our window faces an outside street.” Before she could let Mikasa have a chance to protest, Annie climbed out of the window. 

Mikasa poked her head out of the window to look at the blonde. “You really weren’t kidding.”

“Yeah, no, I’m serious. Get your ass down here, Ackerman.”

The brunette sighed, her head hanging for a moment before she did the same as her roommate and hopped out of the window. She was suddenly very thankful that they lived on the first floor. As they hurried to the other side of the street and away from the barracks, Mikasa asked, “What are we going to do?”

Annie shrugged. “Dunno. Do you wanna find some place to look up at the stars?”

One of Mikasa’s brows rose and she scoffed, “Well, aren’t you the romantic.”

“Ladies fall all over me,” her companion announced. 

“O-oh.” 

They came to a stop suddenly. Momentarily, Annie felt herself get scared. “What?”

“I…didn’t know you liked women.”

“Is that a problem?” Her eyes widened. “Wait, you don’t think I’m hitting on you, do you?”

Mikasa shook her head. “No, I just didn’t know that anyone other than me that is interested in women. Other than Ymir and Christa, anyway.”

The pair went quiet for a moment as Annie stared at her target. “Oh. I didn’t know you liked women either.” She laughed, a bit nervously, “Well, learn something new everyday, right?” After a moment, she motioned with her hand and said, “C’mon, let’s get going. We didn’t sneak out just to turn back five minutes later.”

As they slipped away, heading towards the outskirts that held fields of tall grass and flowers, Mikasa felt her heart pounding. It was rare that she disobeyed rules so flagrantly. She would only do so when it benefited the people she cared for. A smile actually came to her face as she felt the cool spring night air on her skin and didn’t try to hide it when Annie turned to glance at her. 

Finally, standing in a field, they came to a stop and Annie watched her target lift her face to stare at the sky. It was populated thickly with stars and even though Annie loved to look at the stars, she couldn’t seem to look away from Mikasa’s face. Something about seeing the face usually so stoic and determined looking childish and filled with wonder was striking. “I guess...” Annie had to make herself blink, pulling herself out of the stupor she had seemed to fall into. She finally focused as Mikasa continued to speak. “I haven’t looked at the stars in a while...”

“It’s...humbling,” Annie said quietly. “To look up...and feel so small compared to everything that’s up there in the sky...”

After some more time standing in silence, Mikasa whispered, “Thank you.” 

Annie hummed. “For what?” 

“Bringing me out here.” The brunette finally leveled her eyes on Annie and offered a small smile. “It’s beautiful.”

With a nod, Annie agreed, “Yeah.”

* * *

 

During an expedition, Mikasa pulled her horse alongside Annie’s and muttered, “I have a really bad feeling.”

Annie glanced at her and replied, “You too?”

Mikasa nodded and frowned, watching where Eren was riding next to Levi and Hanji. “It isn’t a big secret anymore about Eren...”

“Right...” The blonde woman scowled; Annie typically relied on her gut feeling when things started to happen and she was almost never wrong. There must’ve been something different about Jaeger’s titan. Something big enough that Hoover and Braun seemed to follow him closely. “If anything happens, I’m sure that Levi’s squad will be able to hold it off.” However, knowing the truth about Hoover and Braun, Annie couldn’t be perfectly sure. 

“I won’t just rely on that-” The ground shook, startling their horses. Mikasa and Annie both managed to rein in their horses and looked at one another in shock before they saw it- a female titan. 

When she saw the titan’s eyes fall on her, Annie felt her gut twist sharply. That could’ve been her. It could’ve been her in that body, chasing after the Scouts with the intent to capture and or kill. Annie wanted to get sick. But, instead, she looked at Mikasa with a determined look on her face and said, “We have to slow her down or- better yet- kill her.” 

“What do you have in mind?” Mikasa asked quickly. Ahead of them, Levi was ordering Eren and other recruits to get up into the trees, seeking higher ground. The older members of Levi’s squad looked as though they were beginning to get into a formation. 

“Hey, you two, get up in the trees,” Levi shouted. 

The pair looked at one another but complied. As soon as they were in the upper branches, Mikasa stated, “We have to try and slow her down at least.”

“The cables from our gear are pretty sturdy, right?”

“Depends on how new they are,” Mikasa answered. “Think we could use them to trip her up or get her tangled?”

Annie sighed, “Worth a shot, right?”

Quietly, but firmly, the brunette said, “If it’ll save Eren and keep everyone else safe, it’s worth it.” They each leapt down, cables shooting out. One of Mikasa’s got the female titan through the ankle and the other latched onto a nearby tree, letting her swing across to pull that leg off balance. The titan didn’t trip but did turn her body to face the opposite way just so she could stay on her feet. Annie used one of her cables to skewer the titan’s hand, leaping across like Mikasa had done to pull one of the titan’s arms awkwardly, making it difficult to move. 

However, the female titan began to struggle and Annie shouted, “Unhook!” They both managed to do so narrowly as the female titan tugged her limbs free. The force of it would’ve likely thrown them so violently that they would’ve died. Annie used her gear to swing back up next to Mikasa and said, “Another intelligent titan.”

“Fucking wonderful,” Mikasa grumbled. She watched as the female titan turned and once again began running. “Should we let her go for now?”

“Probably. Eren is out of sight and she likely can’t climb the trees. So, unless your brother decides to do something  _ spectacularly _ stupid-” Annie was cut off as a roar pierced the air and her eyes narrowed, mouth curling into a deeply unhappy scowl. “Like that.”

Sure enough the titan that Annie figured was Eren had bolted through the trees to tackle the female titan. When the blonde gave a flat glare at Mikasa, the taller girl ran a hand over her face. “Please don’t say it.”

“Your brother is a fucking moron,” Annie growled. 

Mikasa gave a heavy sigh, obviously frustrated. “I said please.”

“I’m not about to baby him,” the blonde retorted. “And that even goes to how I talk about him to you.” She got back up to her feet and said, “Looks like we’re gonna have to do something to keep things from getting worse.” Annie looked over, seeing the other Scouts watching the fight. Even Levi was holding back. There weren’t any safe openings to jump in without risking Eren or a Scout. But then, the female titan reared back and punched Eren off, her fist encased in crystal. Seeing that- the crystal- made Annie’s stomach churn. 

Then, what everyone feared most happened. The female titan wrestled Eren into a hold and bit into his neck. “ _ Eren! _ ” Mikasa screamed. In horror, they watched as the female titan bit Eren out of his titan’s neck. However, as soon as that was done, she bolted. And Mikasa followed. 

“Mikasa, wait!” Annie shouted. She growled and followed after Mikasa. ‘ _ Pain in my ass- you’re gonna get yourself killed! _ ’ The blonde snapped, “Mikasa, you can’t fight that thing alone!” She watched Mikasa fly through the trees and slice away at the female titan. It was almost awe inspiring. ‘ _ The Ackermans really are something to be feared _ ...’ Annie thought. 

When Mikasa got a good cut into the titan’s leg, it sent the female titan sprawling forward on the ground. Seeing an opening, Mikasa yelled, “Give Eren  _ back _ !” However, right before her hit connected, the female titan hardened her hand with crystal and covered her neck. The impact sent Mikasa flying back, using her broken blades to catch a grip on the tree. “Why can’t my blades penetrate?”

“It’s the crystal around her hand,” her roommate answered. She moved closer to Mikasa, planning to grab her in case she needed to keep the brunette from attacking again. “It’s too hard. Your blades can’t cut through that.” Just as Mikasa was about to move, Annie grabbed her. “We can’t cut through that crystal. She’s going to get tired eventually.”

“Leonhardt is right.” The two girls looked back to see Levi standing on a branch nearby with his squad. “We need to maintain distance and let that thing wear out to the point we can kill it.”

“Eren is still alive!” Mikasa argued. “I won’t let that  _ thing _ take him!” 

Levi looked at her evenly. “So. You’re the one. Eren’s close friend.”

“I’m his sister,” she murmured. She held his gaze evenly, seeing the vague surprise at her statement.

Annie asked, “Where’s the rest of the squad?”

His gaze darkened and he glared at the titan. “Dead.” Levi watched as the titan got to her feet and began to jog. “The rest of the Scouts are back in the clearing where Eren’s titan is. Go wait there.”

“No,” Mikasa replied adamantly. Switching her blades, the brunette bolted away, despite Annie and Levi both yelling after her. 

“Is she always this fucking stubborn?” Levi hissed. 

Tone flat, Annie answered, “Yep.”

“You come with me. We’re going to intercept her.” They shot off after Mikasa, flying smoothly through the trees. Once they gained on her, Levi used a burst of gas to speed himself past Annie to snatch Mikasa mid-attack. “You can’t fight that thing alone. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Eren is still alive! I’m not letting that thing take him!”

“If it bit him out, it probably swallowed him. He’s probably in its stomach by this time,” he stated. 

“No, she got him out  _ whole _ . She captured him. He’s  _ alive _ .” Mikasa was glaring at him, their grey eyes locked on each other. 

“Fine. But if we work off of that hope, we need to abandon the idea of killing the female titan right now. Our focus is to just get Eren out of her mouth,” he ordered. Annie was maintaining speed beside them. Levi looked at her. “Think you can keep up while we wait for her to get tired?”

Annie nodded and responded, “Well, yeah.” She glanced at the titan in question and muttered, “It looks like we might get our chance sooner than expected.” The titan was slowing down. She watched carefully as Levi let Mikasa loose and the girl righted herself. Annie felt her chest ache a little. Mikasa’s expression was filled with rage- even hatred. And the blonde girl was more thankful than ever that she wasn’t chosen as the female titan. 

Levi dove in, slicing at the titan’s arms and legs, making it stumble. Blood sprayed into the air and Mikasa stared in awe at him. “He’s moving fast enough that she can’t use that crystal.”

It was truly a terrifying sight. The female titan staggered when Levi gauged her eyes with his blades, falling to lean against a tree. Annie murmured, “We can probably cut her cheeks and make her jaw fall open. Her eyes are still blinded for now-” However, before she could finish Mikasa had leapt into action and Annie gritted her teeth. ‘ _ She’s going to cost me my contract by getting herself fucking killed! _ ’ 

“Stop!” Levi hollered when he saw Mikasa swooping down. She halted just before the female titan put her arm up, narrowly missing a possibly fatal collision. The man swept past, swinging his blades so fast that the female titan couldn’t block. And her jaw fell open, Eren falling from her mouth. Levi caught him, swinging back up to the branch where Annie stood. Mikasa followed quickly, the relief palpable on her face. “We need to get back to everyone else and retreat immediately.”

The blonde girl could only watch as Mikasa cried out of sheer relief. And her heart ached. It would be difficult to fulfill her contract after seeing Mikasa’s devotion to her brother. She wouldn’t want to leave willingly; fighting Mikasa and incapacitating her would be very hard. Annie felt her own eyes sting. Eren was safe again.

* * *

 

Mikasa had begun to have worse nightmares. It would startle Sasha awake on the odd occasion that Mikasa would scream or cry out. But Annie would get up and balance on the edge of Sasha’s bed so she could reach over, brushing her fingers into Mikasa’s hair softly. One such night, right before liberty weekend, Mikasa had woken sobbing. The blonde was out of bed and balancing on Sasha’s bunk within moments. “Hey, Mikasa, you’re ok.” 

“Sorry...” she whimpered.

“Hey, no, it’s ok, you’re ok,” Annie whispered. She ran her fingers into Mikasa’s hair, trying to soothe her. “Do you want me to sit up here until you calm down?”

Her target nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. Annie pulled herself up to sit on Mikasa’s bed and started to rub the girl’s back. “Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked weakly. 

Annie blinked at the question. “Well...we’re friends at this point, right?” For a moment, she was scared, seeing the look on Mikasa’s face. 

A weak smile curled her lips and Mikasa husked out, “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

It was then that Annie actually felt relieved and she offered a smile in return. “Of course I am.” The blonde girl felt genuine relief when she saw Mikasa smile; a moment passed where she just smiled tenderly at her roommate, her hand resting on Mikasa’s cheek. Then, as if being pulled out of the emotional moment physically, Annie blushed and went back to just running her fingers through Mikasa’s hair. “We should go get donuts later.”

“Donuts sound good,” Mikasa agreed softly. “And coffee.” 

“Yeah. Coffee sounds good too,” the mercenary confirmed. She watched as the tears began to dry and she brushed a thumb over the crest of Mikasa’s cheek. “There...” Annie smiled at her. “Better?”

Mikasa nodded. “Yeah. Much better.” When Annie began to move, presumably to go back to her own bed, the brunette grabbed her pant leg. “Uhm...will...you stay here until I fall back asleep?”

Somehow, having Mikasa Ackerman, the strongest person Annie had ever met in her entire life, ask her to stay until she fell back asleep was endearing. And it really made her entire chest warm. “Of course I will.” It didn’t take much longer of stroking Mikasa’s hair softly and talking quietly to ease Mikasa back to sleep. She really didn’t want to leave her side; Annie wouldn’t have minded staying there until Mikasa actually woke up. Yet, despite that, she carefully climbed down and went back to her own bunk, keeping an eye on Mikasa until she could no longer keep her own eyes open. 

Formation that morning seemed to arrive too soon but as soon as it was over, Annie smiled; Mikasa approached looking exhausted but relieved at the same time. “Coffee and donuts?” she asked softly.

“Coffee and donuts,” Annie answered, chuckling. They headed in towards town and the blonde questioned, “How is Eren doing?”

“All right, I think...he wants to get stronger so he can stop the female titan next time...” 

Annie mumbled, “I wonder who the female titan is...” However, really, she knew already. But a part of her wondered if Mikasa had any ideas. 

“Isabelle,” Mikasa hissed. “Isabelle Teufel.” 

Utter shock was all Annie could describe her feelings with. She hadn’t expected Mikasa to know for certain. “What makes you think it’s her?”

“The hair and eyes are the same...but their fighting styles are the same as well,” she answered coolly. “That’s what really solidified it for me. I know it’s her.”

‘ _ You would’ve known had it been me as well...because my fighting style is so different too... _ ’ The blonde girl shuddered. Mikasa would’ve murdered her if Annie had been the female titan. Or, at least, she knew Mikasa would’ve at least gotten very close. Shoving her hands in her pockets, Annie stared at the road under their feet and muttered, “I guess you’re right. I’ve never seen this Isabelle girl. Is she in a different regiment?”

“Military police brigade.”

‘ _ To get more information on the king, no doubt... _ ’ She hummed. “Damn.” Annie paused and murmured, “I’m sorry about what nearly happened to Eren. I don’t fully get why you went into that much of a blind fury. You’re usually pretty controlled.”

Mikasa fell quiet and eventually answered, “I can’t let Eren die. Not when I made a promise. And not when he’s the one who gave me the will to live.” 

Annie glanced at her. “He’s that important to you, huh?”

The brunette nodded. “More than anyone will be able to understand.” She rubbed her temples. “How about we get some coffee and donuts and then go sit by the river while we talk?”

“Sounds good to me,” her roommate said lightly. They didn’t really speak until they had gotten their breakfast and sat down by the river. “Y’know, you don’t have to tell me about this.”

“I don’t,” Mikasa agreed, “but you’re my friend. And I want you to know why Eren is so important to me. And why I fight so hard to keep him safe. And, of course, why my feelings for him aren’t romantic at all.” There was a long pause as she sighed and took a sip of her coffee to apparently calm herself. “Up until I was nine, I lived with my parents in a little house outside of town. We did a bit of farming and raised chickens and everything was so peaceful. Dr. Jaeger, Eren’s dad, was our family doctor. We found out my mom was pregnant. And so Dr. Jaeger would come around more often. And he brought Eren with him.” Mikasa smiled weakly, looking nostalgic. 

Her smile fell and Mikasa stared at the cup of coffee in her hands. “We were expecting Dr. Jaeger to come over one day. So when there was a knock, my dad opened it.” She tensed. “That’s when they killed him. My mom screamed and told me to go hide. To get away. I couldn’t. I was frozen. I couldn’t do anything. I watched as my mom attacked them, probably to keep them from getting me. And they killed her too. I still remember her screaming. And the blood.” 

The blonde girl was looking at her roommate in shock. Possibly even horror. It wasn’t what she had thought at all. “But...why...”

Mikasa raised her head. “My mom and I were the last Asians within the walls.” 

Annie felt sick. She wanted to vomit as the implication sank in. “So they were human traffickers?”

With a simple nod, Mikasa confirmed, “Yes.” She took another drink of her coffee and Annie noticed that her hands were shaking. “They knocked me out. Kidnapped me. I know they were going to sell me to the highest bidder. There couldn’t have been anything else they could’ve done.” The girl admitted, “I felt so dead inside. There was nothing worth living for. I didn’t have any family left and no one was going to come find me. But then I heard Eren.”

Her roommate kept staring at her, realizing exactly what made Eren so important finally. ‘ _ He saved her. _ ’

“He pretended to be lost but when one of them finally got close enough, Eren stabbed him.” 

“Stabbed him?” Annie retorted, looking incredulous. 

Nodding, Mikasa replied, “Yeah. The other one began to choke Eren and I was frozen again. But then, Eren’s words reached me. He told me to fight. If you don’t fight, you die. If you win, you live. So you have to fight. Fight to live.” She paused and then said, “I fought. And I won. And both Eren and I survived.”

“Mikasa, I...”

“Unfortunately, things don’t end there,” Mikasa stated. “Eren’s family adopted me.Dr. Jaeger and Mrs. Jaeger treated me like their own and I couldn’t have been more grateful. Because I had a family again.” Mikasa had to set her coffee down and grip her legs to keep herself from shaking. “It didn’t last very long though. The colossal titan broke the wall and then the mindless titans just poured in...one titan in particular...with a terrifying smile on its face...came while Eren and I were trying to free Eren’s mom. Her legs had gotten crushed by the debris from the wall. She asked me to take care of Eren and make sure he was safe. I promised her that I would. Hannes grabbed me and Eren because the smiling titan was so close. He carried us away. I couldn’t bring myself to watch as that thing ate Eren’s mother.” She had tears running down her cheeks. “But...that’s why I have to keep Eren safe. He’s the only family I have left.”

Annie felt her chest aching. ‘ _ It’s going to be hard to go through with the mission now…Damn _ .’ The blonde looked back down at her own drink and mumbled, “I had no idea.”

“No one does. No one knows.” She paused. “I guess that’s not entirely true. Armin knows.” Mikasa wiped the tears from her face and sighed. “And now you know.” She looked over at Annie and offered a small smile. “It’s hard to talk about. Even if it was several years ago.”

“Wait, how old are you?” Annie questioned.

“Fifteen.”

She blinked. “Huh. I thought you were older than me.”

Mikasa tilted her head and for a moment, Annie was reminded of a dog. “Then how old are you?”

The blonde answered, “Sixteen.”

After a small pause, the smile on Mikasa’s face turned into a smirk and Annie was already preparing herself to retaliate. “You’re awful  _ little _ for a sixteen-year-old, aren’t you?”

Annie’s cheeks went bright red and she snapped, “I’m not little!”

“You’re little to me,” Mikasa replied, her tone musical. 

Annie set her coffee down to reach over, aiming to swing playfully at Mikasa. It caused the pair to laugh, lightening the mood considerably. The blonde grumbled, “You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?”

“You’re the one who wanted to be my friend.” They sat in a much more comfortable silence then. Mikasa reached over and grabbed a donut from the bag. However, upon further inspection, she found out it was the last one. “Holy shit, Annie, this is the last donut. Did you seriously eat five?”

“H-hey, I didn’t realize! Besides, you said you don’t really like sweets,” the shorter girl countered. 

Mikasa paused, eyes narrowing. “You can’t use my own words against me.”

“I just did.” A smug smirk curled Annie’s mouth and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Ha. No comeback?”

The brunette growled, “Oh, I’ll give you a comeback...” She reached over and stole Annie’s coffee cup. 

“Whoa, whoa, wait a minute-!” She pouted. “That’s my coffee.”

One fine brow rose and Mikasa retorted, “And you ate two-thirds of my donuts.” 

Annie huffed. “Not on purpose...” She said, “Ok, ok, look. I will go and buy anything of equal value to replace the donuts.”

Her eyes lit up. “Anything?”

“Anything.”

Suddenly growing quiet and almost shy, Mikasa asked, “Strawberries?”

“Ok, strawberries,” Annie agreed. She blinked when Mikasa handed her coffee back, taking it quickly. “You must really like strawberries.”

“They’re my favorite.”

* * *

 

Annie had interacted with Eren plenty of times. She more or less had to with as much time as she spent with Mikasa. At first, the blonde had trouble just being around him. He was loud and brash and there were a lot of times that she thought he made really stupid mistakes. But, knowing what Mikasa had told her, it began to change what she thought. She realized it wasn’t stupidity; it was just Eren doing what he felt he had to do. His determination was awe-inspiring. There were times that she thought it even out-shined Mikasa’s own determination. Which, on its own was terrifying. 

“You know, you should probably rethink the whole slaughtering every titan in existence thing,” she mentioned. 

Eren looked at her with confusion plain on his face. “Why? I’m tired of people having to live in fear of going outside the walls!” 

“I understand that,” Annie replied. They were sitting outside the coffee shop while Mikasa and Armin were getting their orders. “But that kind of thing is impossible for just one person.”

“I can still do it,” he said indignantly. 

She hummed. “You can. But at what cost?” Annie looked at him evenly. “Your life? The Scouts? Your sister?”

The boy scowled. “I-”

“Hey guys,” Armin chimed as he walked out the door, holding it open with his foot for Mikasa. “We got coffee.”

Mikasa held up a small bag. “And a donut for you, Annie.”

Annie smirked. “Aw, you’re spoiling me, Mikasa. If you’re not careful, I’m gonna start to think you like me or something.”

“And what if I do?” the taller girl argued.

The blonde’s cheeks flushed and she muttered, “Then that makes you fucking insane.” 

“W-well, I wouldn’t say insane,” Armin defended. He actually took a physical step back at the glare Annie leveled on him. “M-Mikasa definitely does some things that most normal humans would question though.” The brunette girl raised a brow. “I mean your strength! You’re crazy strong so you can do a lot of things normal people can’t do.” 

“Oh, nice save,” Annie quipped. She smirked when Mikasa shot her a nasty look. The blonde quickly leaned forward to catch the bag containing the donut. “Hey!” She huffed, “What did the donut ever do to you?”

“It’s yours?”

“Oh, nice, so you’d just throw my stuff around, huh?”

“I’d even throw you around if you say the right thing,” Mikasa said flippantly. 

Her cheeks flushed red and Annie shot back, “As if you could.” Maybe Mikasa had meant what she said as just sparring but Annie’s thoughts definitely went in a completely different direction. This did not bode well- emotional attachments to targets were a terrible idea. Especially with how she had just taken Mikasa’s comment. Falling in love was absolutely out of the question. But, unfortunately, Annie worried it might already be happening.

Eren mumbled, “Uh, Armin, maybe you should stop talking. I don’t want to try and stop them from killing each other.” He got to his feet and took the proffered coffee. “Let’s go. I heard that there’s a stall in the market that makes fried onions and that sounds really good right now.” As they walked, Eren muttered, “I wonder why the female titan was trying to capture me.” 

“Maybe because you can turn into a titan too?” Armin suggested. “Or there’s some kind of power your titan has that she needs.” He grew quiet. And mumbled, “I don’t think we should discuss what I suspect while we’re in the market though.”

“You think you know who it is, Armin?” Mikasa questioned. When he glanced back at her, his face grim, she nodded. “I have my suspicions as well.”

Then, he murmured, “The fighting style.”

Mikasa sighed heavily and Annie just muttered, “Well, damn. Sounds like the brains of your little group thinks the same thing as you, Ackerman.”

“Wait, what are you guys talking about?” Eren asked. 

“We’ll discuss it back at the barracks with Captain Levi,” Mikasa replied calmly. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Annie nod in agreement.

* * *

 

Finally having a plan to capture Isabelle, they put it into action. Mikasa, Eren, Armin and Annie would convince Isabelle to follow them underground where she wouldn’t be able to shift. From the get-go, Isabelle had seemed hesitant. According to one of the other rookies for the detail, Isabelle had tried to switch with someone else. When Isabelle approached, she greeted, “Hey, Annie. Long time no see.”

The blonde girl grunted, “Yeah. Would’ve preferred no see ever again.”

Isabelle chuckled; she hadn’t changed much in Annie’s eyes. Her dirty blonde hair was still drawn into a half-crown braid and she still had the same hazel eyes that had looked so triumphant when she was chosen as a warrior instead of Annie. “C’mon, don’t be like that. I haven’t seen you since I left home.” 

“Yeah, it was nice without you,” Annie grumbled.

Armin blinked. “Oh, you guys are from the same hometown?”

Before the other girl could answer, the mercenary replied, “Sadly. Can’t say we ever got along.”

“You never got along with anyone though,” Isabelle noted lightly. As the others began to head down into the tunnel, the other girl paused up at the top of the stairs. 

Mikasa and Annie were slightly further down but paused to look back up at her. Eren spoke instead and questioned, “What’s wrong, Isabelle?”

“Uhm, I don’t like enclosed spaces like this. I’m...claustrophobic,” she mumbled. 

The blonde boy urged, “But it’s ok, the tunnel is pretty big. There’s plenty of space.”

Annie could see Mikasa beginning to grow restless and she shot a look at her. It didn’t seem to do anything as the brunette threw her hood off and drew her blades. “I’m tired of this farce- I’m going to kill you this time!” she shouted. “You get that, Female Titan?”

Isabelle’s eyes narrowed and she sighed. “I should’ve killed you back in that forest, Ackerman. You’re really getting to be more trouble than your miserable life is worth.” She lowered her gaze. “Well. Looks like there’s no choice now...” Isabelle began to raise her hand and in that instant, Armin fired the flare. But before any of the scouts could restrain her, Isabelle bit her hand. The scouts had just reached her and Mikasa grabbed Eren and Armin while Annie drew her own blades. The massive explosion nearly deafened Annie and it did make her stumble down a couple steps. Any scout that had gotten near Isabelle was dead- incinerated in the explosion.

“Fucking hell, of course shit can never go according to plan,” Annie swore. ‘ _ Mikasa is usually pretty good at sticking to a plan unless it’s against someone that threatened her damn brother. Fuckin’ overprotective pain in my ass! _ ’ She hollered, “Mikasa, are Eren and Armin ok?”

“We’re not hurt, if that’s what you mean,” Armin replied. He looked up, seeing the female titan kneeling. Then, there was a rumble and part of the tunnel behind them collapsed. “She blocked our way out!”

Mikasa was already back up and on the move. Annie followed, grabbing her arm. “Wait a second!”

“I can’t wait- not if we’re going to stop her!” the brunette snapped. 

Annie growled, “Dammit, Ackerman, you’re gonna get yourself fucking killed at this rate.”

There was a tense pause between them as Mikasa’s gaze hardened and she said coldly, “I’m stronger than that. If you want to stay behind, go ahead. But I’m going after her and I’m going to slice her up this time, once and for all.” She sprinted up the stairs, immediately giving chase. 

Glancing at Eren, Annie muttered, “You’d better use that titan of yours. And those moves you begged me to teach you.”

Eren still looked upset but, knowing the truth, he nodded resolutely. “Right.” He ran up the stairs after his sister, leaving Annie and Armin to head up after them. 

“Isabelle seemed to know you pretty well,” Armin mentioned. 

“Armin, if you’re gonna try and analyze whether or not I’m on her side, I’ll spare you the time: I’m not,” the blonde girl stated firmly. “I don’t like Isabelle. Never have. And I’ll be happy to see her dead, after all this.” Looking at him, she announced, “All that matters to me right now is ensuring that Mikasa survives and that Isabelle is taken down.” Then, with that, she turned and hurried after Mikasa. Eren was already in his titan form, fighting the female titan. Annie used her gear to get to a better vantage point and saw Mikasa following the fight closely. “Mikasa!” As soon as she caught up, the blonde shouted, “You’re making my life really fucking difficult, y’know that?”

Mikasa finally looked at her as they landed on a roof together. “I’m not gonna let her continue to kill people. And I won’t let her take Eren.” The look on her face was filled with purpose, her dark eyes almost glowing with anger. 

Annie felt her heart lurch, seeing the passion in her target. “Then, I’ll fight with you. And we’ll stop her.” 

Her gaze softened slightly as Mikasa gauged Annie’s posture. “Thank you.” She reached over, briefly brushing the backs of their hands together, almost in lieu of squeezing Annie’s hand. “Let’s take her down before she can get away.” However, after Eren had landed a hit on the female titan, they saw her fall onto the church. “No-”

“Was there a service going on in there?” Annie questioned, eyes widening in shock. The female titan had killed several people already and the body count had to be raising close to at least thirty or forty. She observed the female titan get back up and land a hit on Eren to throw him off balance for a moment as she took off. “Shit, she’s heading to an open area, we can’t maneuver through there.”

“Then we’d better get going so we can trap her at the wall,” Mikasa responded evenly. As they headed in that direction, the brunette looked at Annie and inquired, “Why do you always say I’m making your life so hard?”

“Because you do- you rush into shit when you’re upset and it scares the fuck outta me,” Annie said sharply. “You’re the one who said we’re friends, right?”

There was a pause as they got closer to the wall. “Are you sure it isn’t anything else?” Mikasa replied. 

Annie’s cheeks burned as she snapped, “If you’re trying to imply I’ve got some kinda feelings for you, I’ve got news for you.” She turned her head away when she saw Mikasa begin to smirk at her. “I’ll kick your ass after this.” 

“I’m not sure I want you touching my ass just yet,” Mikasa snorted. 

“Y-yet?” Annie stammered. Before much else could be said, however, they reached the wall and saw the female titan beginning to scale it. “We should get to the top as soon as we can. So we can head her off when she’s close enough. We could cut through her nape directly when she starts to pull herself over the top,” the blonde suggested, picturing the scenario in her head to create a strategy. 

“How about I just cut her fingers off and when she falls, everyone else can detain her?” The taller girl was already scaling the wall, trying to get high enough above the female titan to swoop and slice through her fingers. 

The mercenary growled, “As soon as Isabelle is dead, I’m gonna kick Mikasa’s ass seven ways from Sunday.” She took off after her target and glanced over to see Isabelle watching her while she climbed. Annie shot her a glare but kept going, taking care to stay out of reach of the titan’s reach. After managing to get high enough, she saw Mikasa. The blonde got up next to her and whispered, “I’ll go for the fingers. You swing around and slice her nape before she can heal and bring her hand up.”

Mikasa stared at her, panting quietly from the exertion of battle. “Why-?”

“No time for that,” Annie responded, “just follow what I said. She’ll probably think we’re each gonna take out one of her hands or arms. But if I take out one, she’ll be forced to hang on with the uninjured one. Giving you the opportunity to slice her nape and tear her out.”

She nodded. “Annie?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.” 

They parted to different sides and Annie swung down just before Mikasa to make it look like they were going for the hands. Isabelle wasn’t able to harden her fingers fast enough and Annie sliced right through the fingers of her right hand and the first two of her left. Annie alighted on Isabelle’s remaining fingers, casting a smirk at her. “Looks like it was you that never got along with anyone,” Annie stated coolly. 

At that very moment, Mikasa had reached the female titan’s nape and cut once with her blades to reveal Isabelle. Her return swing allowed her to land right in front of her as the skin and blood steamed, trying to heal. “I told you I’d kill you.” Mikasa brought both of her blades across, dealing the blow that not even shifters could heal from. 

Then, something happened. An odd shift in the air occurred as Isabelle’s corpse and the titan body fell. Annie had grabbed Mikasa to keep her from being pulled down as well but she could feel something almost like electricity. The mercenary knew, despite not being chosen as a Warrior, that the second Teufel was killed, her titan ability chose a new host. “Ackerman, there are moments where I think you’re the most intelligent, passionate person I’ve ever met and then there’s other times where I think you’re worse than your fucking brother.”

Weakly laughing, Mikasa questioned, “What kind of moment is it now?”

“Can’t tell just yet but I’m leaning towards you being crazier than your brother,” Annie answered in a deadpan. Pulling the other girl up into her arms, the mercenary used her gear to lower them to the ground. It felt way too nice to have Mikasa’s arms wrapped around her neck, their bodies pressed close. A feeling of something mingled with dread settled in her stomach. This was definitely bad.

* * *

 

It was very strange after the battle with the female titan. Things seemed calm; the kind of calm that one would say comes before the storm. One evening, rain coming down hard outside their room in the barracks, the trio of girls were all relaxing and talking about recent events.

Sasha exclaimed, “You guys were amazing when you took down the female titan!”

“It wasn’t that impressive,” Mikasa said, her cheeks slightly pink from the praise.

Annie shrugged and leaned back on her bunk. “I just kind of came up with the plan on the fly, y’know? I didn’t know if it’d work or not.”

“Well, it certainly did work,” the more excitable girl announced. She was seemingly very pleased. “So that’s one less of those intelligent titans to worry about, right?”

She had to roll her eyes when she knew Sasha wasn’t looking. Annie knew for a fact that wasn’t the case. But the Scouts didn’t have that information and the blonde couldn’t just say it without falling under suspicion. “Yeah, it’ll make our jobs a lot easier,” Annie said.

“It was a very effective plan,” admitted Mikasa. She lowered her book to glance at Annie. “I probably would’ve only been able to slice her fingers if I had been alone. After that, who knows what could’ve happened. She could’ve gotten away somehow.” Casting a smile Annie’s way, she murmured, “It helped keep more people than just Eren safe.” 

To avoid the very good possibility that Mikasa could’ve been complimenting her in an affectionate way, Annie muttered, “Watch it, Ackerman, you’re starting to act like you enjoy my presence.” It was deadpan. She had to keep herself aloof before she fucked up more.

“I do enjoy your presence,” she responded primly, “ _ little _ deadpan and all.”

Her cheeks going red, the blonde girl snapped, “What is it with you and the ‘ _ little _ ’ comments?”

Almost as if she were being sickeningly sweet to mess with Annie, Mikasa said, “But you are  _ little _ . It’s cute.”

Sasha burst into giggles and had to roll away, pillow over her face so she could save herself from the glare Annie likely shot her way. She laughed harder when Annie took the spare pillow from the bunk above her own and pitched it at Sasha’s back, making a loud sound of impact. The girl managed to gasp, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry but you guys are just-” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, who are you referring to with ‘ _ you guys, _ ’ huh?” interrogated the mercenary. She was trying to keep her tone light but she was panicking on the inside. Ordinarily, Annie was able to keep a flat tone and even be cold. But she had let her guard down just enough that instead of befriending Mikasa for the benefit of her mission, she had befriended Mikasa genuinely. 

Mikasa noted playfully, “I think she’s referring to  _ us _ , Annie.”

“Us?  _ Us _ ? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied airily. After they had all died down a little, Annie muttered, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news-”

“No you don’t,” her target quipped. When Annie looked at her, Mikasa just smirked. 

“Whatever...but I think something big is going to happen...”

Sasha nodded in agreement. “I’ve had that feeling too. Everything feels like there’s a weird feeling in the air.”

The three of them went quiet again. Mikasa sighed. “Well. Hopefully, it’ll be something we can handle.”

“As long as you don’t go avenging angel, we’ll be fine,” added the mercenary. 

After a while longer, Sasha fell asleep, lightly snoring. It wasn’t loud. But noticeable enough that Mikasa knew she was asleep. She carefully lowered herself out of her bunk and went to Annie’s, sitting on the edge. “Hey.”

Annie blinked, looking at her curiously. “Hey. Is there something you need or do you just want to make me lose sleep?” she joked. 

“Shut up, at least I’m not kicking your ass.”

“As if you could.”

Mikasa rolled her eyes and smiled. “Whatever.” Her expression changed, suddenly becoming a bit less sure, a bit less confident. Shyly, the girl mumbled, “I...meant what I said that day.”

“What, when you thanked me?” She shrugged, looking nonchalant. “No problem, ok?”

“No, not that.” She paused. “I meant that too but that’s not what I’m talking about.” Mikasa pulled her legs up, hugging them to her chest. “I meant it when I asked if it wasn’t anything else.”

The mercenary went deathly silent. It felt like she had a lump in her throat. “Why is that important?”

“Because. I want to know if I should stop thinking about you as more than just a friend,” the other girl responded in a whisper.

Annie stared at her, eyes wide. Her heart was pounding and she could only hope it wasn’t audible. “You...think of me that way?” When Mikasa nodded, almost imperceptibly, the mercenary sat up and looked at her seriously. “Why? I’ve been a sarcastic fuck and made you cry, like, twice now.” 

They stared at each other for several moments while Mikasa seemed to think of what she wanted to say. “You’re strong. And intelligent. And funny. And pretty.” She paused, taking a breath. “It’s a little hard to pinpoint exactly when it started...but...I began to notice myself looking forward to liberty and spending time with you. Maybe it was just wishful thinking.” Her eyes focused on Annie’s mouth when she saw the blonde nervously lick her lips. Gingerly, she raised her eyes back to Annie’s, knowing the blonde had seen her look. 

“You really are fucking crazy,” Annie whispered back, “if you’d honestly give me a chance.” She sighed quietly. “Well, at least I don’t feel so stupid for feeling the same thing then.” If anything, Annie felt her heart beat faster at the way Mikasa’s eyes lit up with hope. Maybe she was imagining things but it felt like she had leaned much closer to Mikasa and not noticed it. 

“So...would...you want to maybe give... _ us _ a chance?” 

Her mission was the farthest thing from her mind right then. Honestly, with everything that had happened so far, she was tempted to just forget the whole damn thing. Annie’s voice was uneven as she replied, “If you really want to risk a chance on me, then...I’m not gonna argue.” They were both much closer. Mikasa had let her legs down and turned her body slightly to face Annie head on. Blue eyes flickered from grey eyes to a pair of lips and back again when she realized what they were going to do. “I’ve...never kissed anyone...” she admitted. 

“Neither have I,” Mikasa responded. 

They each shut their eyes, tilting their heads slightly to accommodate their noses so they wouldn’t bump into each other. Annie felt lightheaded. She could feel Mikasa’s breath, shaky and hot, close to her lips. Then, their lips touched and Annie was almost certain she was going to pass out. It was soft. She had no idea someone’s lips could be so tender against her own. 

When they parted, it was barely enough to really count as parting. Their noses still bumped a little as they opened their eyes to look at one another. Mikasa’s cheeks were pink as she quietly said, “Your lips are soft.”

“So are yours,” Annie replied lamely. There was barely another moment before they were kissing again. This time with a little more pressure but still in a tender way. It took a couple minutes for them to become braver. Mikasa finally cupped Annie’s face her hands and Annie gently touched Mikasa’s hips. After breaking the kiss, Mikasa blushed and pressed her forehead to Annie’s with a soft giggle. “Dammit, Ackerman,” the blonde chuckled.

“I know,” whispered Mikasa, “I’m a real pain in your ass.”

Annie smirked, “Hey, you’re learning! Nice job.”

* * *

 

They were all gathered on the top of the wall. And it was then that she heard it. Annie turned along with Mikasa, staring at where Reiner and Bertholdt were standing with Eren. Eren patted Reiner’s shoulder. “C’mon. You must be really tired to make a joke like that.”

Quietly, Annie murmured, “It isn’t a joke.” Beside her, Mikasa had her hands on her blades, ready for anything. Her hands were shaking. He grew very serious and asked, “And if you aren’t joking...what did you think I’d say? Just nod and say,  _ ‘Ok, let’s go then?’ _ ”

The blonde could only reach over to gently touch Mikasa’s arm, trying to keep her from jumping the gun. 

“It’s been three long years...maybe I shouldn’t have waited. Then, if I hadn’t have spent so much time...beginning to see you all as people, maybe I wouldn’t have become such a half-assed piece of shit,” Reiner choked out. 

Bertholdt asked, “What? Reiner, are we really doing it here? Now?”

Reiner lifted the sling from his arm and unwrapped the makeshift bandage, revealing his steaming arm. It was nearly healed already. “I’m going to do what I need to as a Warrior- and that means taking you back with me one way or another, Eren.” He held up his arm as it finished healing and Annie could see Eren shaking- probably with anger.

There wasn’t any way for Annie to stop Mikasa then, as she had sprinted up behind Eren and spun, bringing her blades through one of Reiner’s arms and injuring the other as he narrowly managed to escape having it cause serious damage to his neck. Bertholdt wasn’t quite as lucky. Mikasa’s blades cut his neck and the force of Mikasa’s attack sent him falling backwards, screaming in pain and clutching his neck to try and stop the bleeding. But when Mikasa turned for another attack, Reiner managed to hit her away, sending her flying back and off the wall. Annie rushed over, relieved to see her girlfriend hanging on with her gear. 

Then, she saw the sparks of light around Reiner and Bertholdt. Their eyes met and she leveled a glare at them. Mikasa had just made it back up to the ledge, seeing Reiner and Bertholdt beginning to be engulfed in light. Annie grabbed her and began to tug her down, hoping to avoid the explosion that was caused by a shifter’s transformation. But Mikasa didn’t move in enough time. The force of it sent her flying, debris slashing her face as she fell. “ _ Mikasa! _ ” Annie shouted.

The explosions had enough force to send everyone off their feet. But as the stretcher holding Ymir began to go tumbling, a massive hand reached out from the steam, grabbing her. Historia gasped, “Ymir!” But as the colossal titan reared up, it brought Ymir back over and tossed her in his mouth. The blonde girl yelled hoarsely, “ _ Ymir! _ ”

Mikasa’s body was suddenly surrounded by crackling energy and the mercenary’s eyes widened in shock. A third explosion occurred. From the steam and light, a huge arm shot out. It was muscular, even having a lot of the muscle tissue exposed. But there was a thick, black armor-like covering that formed claws around the fingers. And there was a huge screaming roar as a head emerged. Black hair, longer than the prior female titan’s, obscured the eyes a little but Annie could still see the blood-red irises almost glowing. Above her, on the wall, the armored and colossal titans were beginning to form and the armored titan caught Eren right out of the air. 

The female titan reached well past Annie but did pause when her eyes were level with Annie’s body. Cautiously, the mercenary reached out to touch Mikasa’s cheek. Huge red eyes shut briefly as their skin touched. “You’re...completely in control.” Mikasa nodded and used her free hand to pluck Annie off the wall and carefully place the blonde on her shoulder. Annie held on tight, the speed that the titan was moving was enough that if she so much as wavered in her grip, Annie would go plummeting fast. She hopped off as soon as Mikasa was even with the wall, knowing that the female titan would immediately go after the two that had captured Eren. 

“Another female titan?” Connie exclaimed. Right next to him, Sasha looked horrified. “She’s...going after them...” he mumbled.

Hanji had run up, looking intrigued. “Was that Mikasa?” 

Annie confirmed, “Yes.”

Everyone looked at her. 

“When their transformation caused an explosion, Mikasa was thrown off the wall and she got injured. It triggered the shift,” explained the mercenary. 

“We need to make sure we get Eren back,” Armin stated. He eyed Bertholdt’s titan- the colossal titan- carefully as the massive torso still hung onto the wall. “He’s not moving.”

“They must have some kind of contingency plan,” Annie muttered. “And his skin in too hot especially right now to try cutting Bertholdt out right now. Trying to get Ymir out right now is also out of the question. We should focus on-”

Another huge roar filled the air and Armin excitedly exclaimed, “Eren!” 

Everyone’s attention went to Eren’s titan and Mikasa’s as they all hit the ground. But the excitement was short-lived as the armored titan punched Eren’s titan in the face, sending him flying. Mikasa’s titan was taller than the armored titan but less armored. Her main protection was the claw-like protrusions over her fingers and the ones on her feet. She moved forward and landed a hit to Reiner, sending him off of his feet. He quickly regained his balance however and turned, punching Mikasa’s jaw and sending her through the air with the force. His attention turned once more to Eren as the other titan sprinted towards him. 

They both seemed to be going for a punch but suddenly, Eren ducked under and Annie felt a swell of pride. He executed the move she had taught him. Not perfect by any means but it was good. The move managed to take Reiner’s titan down long enough that Mikasa got back up and rushed over. They could hear cracking and it was becoming noticeable that Reiner’s armor was starting to give. Mikasa stomped one of his legs to prevent him from using it to push Eren and when it snapped under the force, the armored titan let out a roar. 

Snapping bone could be heard and the colossal titan’s body started to tilt. It reached out and grabbed Ymir as the torso started to fall. “Ymir!” Historia screamed. It impact of the colossal titan’s body crushed the three under him. “No, we have to get Ymir back! She’s unconscious!” 

“Dammit, fuckin’ Ackerman,” Annie swore for what felt like the millionth time. She used her gear to go hurtling down. The mercenary had to pull Mikasa free before either Bertholdt or Reiner could fully regenerate their titans. Because now that they knew who the female titan was, they could attempt to take her back with them. 

A sound, almost like creaking wood from a tree starting to fall, broke the tense silence and she saw bodies move. Or, rather, she saw bodies getting thrown off. Mikasa was back on her feet already. And her anger had been renewed. She screamed and Annie knew what was about to happen. “Mikasa! Get Eren and get back up here!” The female titan seemed to hear because she reached down, claws penetrating the now defenseless back of the armored titan, and bodily lifted him, throwing him a good distance away. Eren’s body looked maimed from the impact and added weight of the armored titan. Grabbing his body, the female titan bit out his nape. There was blood everywhere and the titans could be seen beginning to close in. 

Just as the female titan began to turn and start the climb back up, Historia leaned down and begged, “Mikasa,  _ please _ get Ymir!  _ Please _ ! She’s my entire reason for surviving!”

Blood-red eyes widened; Mikasa must’ve realized something. She let go of the wall and was heading over to the colossal titan’s body when it moved and started to get up. Despite that, the female titan broke into a dead sprint. Annie was impressed with her speed. Mikasa’s physical prowess had apparently translated well into the female titan. It was impressive to see the female titan leap up, her claws digging into the colossal titan’s jaw. 

Realizing it would be difficult for Mikasa to open his jaw and then grab Ymir. She leaped down, using her gear to swing, bringing her blades up. “Mikasa!” Her girlfriend ducked just in time for Annie to slice Bertholdt’s jaw. Another swing in the opposite direction cut his jaw loose and Mikasa reached into his mouth while she had time to grab Ymir. Carefully, Mikasa set Ymir in her own mouth with Eren and dropped down, starting to run. Her eyes widened when she saw the armored titan getting up, steaming profusely as his injuries healed. But his armor was still cracked just enough. She reared her arm back as she rushed him. He punched her in the side enough that the black rib-like protrusions that wrapped around her torso cracked. But she grit her teeth, fangs still tinted with blood from getting Eren out of his titan, and threw an uppercut into his stomach, a sudden spray of blood shooting out of his back. And that was when Annie saw a sharpened bit of crystal protruding from Reiner’s back as the force of Mikasa’s hit lifted him from the ground. 

The female titan seemed to stagger suddenly and she felt a sharp pain in her leg. Smaller titans had begun to try and devour her limbs. Mikasa threw Reiner down, distracting them momentarily as she rushed to the wall. She had to climb up. She had to make it. It was a slow process. Her legs had several large chunks taken out of them and so she was almost exclusively using her upper body strength to haul her body up to the top of the wall. 

Annie had just landed on the top of the wall when her eyes widened in horror and she shouted, “Mikasa-!” 

But it was too late. The colossal titan’s hand slammed against Mikasa’s back, trapping her legs from any movement as well as pinning one of her arms. She looked dazed and in pain. Sasha ran over with Connie. “Hey, about we get Eren and Ymir from Mikasa’s mouth and you can cut her out of her titan?” Sasha suggested. 

“Yeah, you’ve got a girl to save,” Connie said with a wink. He grinned and hid behind Sasha when Annie blushed and shot a glare at him.

“Thanks you two,” she replied softly. They leaped into action with Annie landing on Mikasa’s shoulder. “Open your mouth so they can grab Eren and Ymir. I’m gonna take you up with me. Can you get out of your titan?” 

Mikasa’s jaw fell open and the pair retrieved both of their unconscious comrades, leaving Annie to grab Mikasa. She finally began slicing to cut her girlfriend free. Relieved when she felt the familiar pair of arms wrap around her shoulders, the blonde used her gear to head back up. Despite being happy Mikasa was safe for the moment, she sent her a furious glare and snapped, “You are such a pain in my ass! Y’know what, I already was gonna call it off but now, it’s official. You’ve made my job fucking impossible. I’m not gonna get paid anyway.”

“Job?” she asked tiredly. 

“I’m a mercenary, you adorable fuck! I was contracted to take you back to Touyou! And then you made me fall in love with you!” Annie grimaced as they finally got to the top of the wall. Quietly, realizing now what Mikasa must’ve thought, she said, “I’m sorry. After I started...feeling things for you, I was planning on dropping the job altogether. I’m not the type to fake my feelings just to get a target to trust me.”

“Yeah, you’re shit at hiding your real emotions in the heat of the moment,” her girlfriend noted. Annie’s attention shot up to look Mikasa in the eyes. The brunette was smirking, albeit tiredly, and she snorted, “Besides, I imagine you’re good at infiltrating but you typically try to distance yourself.”

Annie nodded, tears welling in her eyes as she smiled. “You’re a pain in the ass, Ackerman.”

“But I’m  _ your _ pain in the ass.”

* * *

 

It took a lot of time for everyone to understand what was happening. Annie sat down with everyone and slowly began to explain what was happening beyond the walls. Mikasa, Eren and Ymir were all put on a constant watch for a time until they had earned everyone outside of the Legion’s trust. Things were beginning to come into scope for everyone in light of the information about Marley and the other titans. It was after they had finally reached the ocean that Annie realized how truly isolated the Eldians were. Marley was waging a war on people who had no idea any other humans existed outside of their walls. Annie was truly thankful, then, that she hadn’t been chosen for the Warriors. 

Mikasa and Armin and Eren all took off their boots and rolled the legs of their pants up so they could step into the water. It made the former mercenary’s heart warm to see the smiles on their faces. The almost childlike wonder in Armin’s eyes and the little giggle Mikasa gave when the water lapped at her calves made Annie realize that her people- her  _ father _ \- were all misguided. None of them knew the whole truth. Despite the somberness of the realization, her attention was caught by Mikasa calling to her. Boots in one hand, the brunette held out her hand to her girlfriend.

Annie smiled, took off her boots and rolled her own pant legs up before stepping into the water and taking Mikasa’s hand. The sun was low enough to cast everything in a golden-pink glow. As they looked at one another, Mikasa and Annie both smiled before leaning in for a kiss.

Somehow...they’d be ok. 

**Author's Note:**

> etheirse asked: How about a mercenary AU... Annie is the merc and she is tasked with find and securing the last of the Ackerman line , Mikasa, from a warzone
> 
> This had been in my ask for a while because I didn't know what to do with it. But it finally hit me.


End file.
